'Butterfly Box 25' by Peter Bell (1918-2015)
Peter Bell was an artist and also a key figure in the building up of the art community in Newfoundland.
Peter had wide interests beyond art, from human dignity/rights to butterflies to orchids.
He had been prosecuted in South Africa for his opposition to apartheid.
He collected butterflies in South Africa, where there were many species, and as an amateur he collaborated with scientists.
His interest in orchids began in South Africa, and he continued to grow them in Newfoundland, where he focusing on ’species’ rather than the showy hybrids. He started an orchid propagation business called Dome Orchids that was for a while the largest ’species’ seedling supplier in the world — the business was later sold to Raymond Burr, the actor who starred in the TV program, playing a wheelchair-bound detective called “Ironside”.
The butterflies’ wings are (mostly) on card, painted with acrylic; the bodies are usually wood. Most of them are models of real butterflies, but occasionally Peter “invented” some. He began doing them when he was in hospital for back surgery, and wanted something he could do in bed. Some of the butterflies had a curved reflective surface, so he had a bedpan in which he mixed papier-maché. Jane Robin brought him a balloon on which to mould the papier-maché to create curve surfaces that he would later coat with reflective foil to make a mirror so that one could see the other side of a butterfly’s wings. Some of these were made inside coconuts.
Peter himself was very methodical in collecting real butterflies, and preserved their location and date and time of capture, because he had been collaborating with Dr Schelpe. His “butterfly boxes” had two features: [1] the butterflies were artificial (no butterflies were killed for mere decoration) and [2] the butterfly boxes were a comment on the Victorian habit of “collecting” but unmethodically and at best decoratively, with all possibly useful scientific information (location, date, time, etc.) discarded in the decorative product. Few people realise the parody of, and his contempt for, the ‘decorative’ abuse of items of wondrous complexity.
The boxes evolved from that — I think — into a celebration of the beauty of the butterflies. His “Kloof” boxes for example showed butterflies that would be in a moist fissure in rock, sheltering from the dryness of the day. There was a real place called Kloof (which means a small valley) about 45 minutes drive from Richmond where he lived. He had friends there (the Amms) who were also keen on orchids, and of course Dr Amm’s collection of orchids didn’t need a greenhouse, the outdoors was subtropical and perfect for them. So Peter’s journey with the “butterfly boxes” may have begun as a very dry form of criticism, but his love of the butterflies and their natural history became the celebration that they are.
There are no bids for the lot at this time
An incredible offering from more than 100 estates and collections.
Featuring original work by Mary Pratt RCA, Christopher Pratt RCA, David Blackwood RCA, Salvador Dali. Anne Meredith Barry RCA, Reginald Shepherd RCA, Gerald Squires RCA, Ron Bolt RCA, George Noseworthy, Bruno Coté, Jean Claude Roy, John MacDonald, Scott Goudie, Elena Popova, Mike Gough, Don Wright, Bill Ritchie, Anna Noéh, Frank Lapointe, Joanne Snook-Hann, Nick Kokis, Trevor Bradley, Natalia Charapova, Boyd Chubbs, Chris Lemaire, Elena Sizova, Greg Bennett, Lori Doody, Peter Bell, Audrey Cole, Joanne Cole, Nathaniel Noel, Michael Fantuz, Sylvia Bendsza, Thomas Jararuse, Jon Wilkinson, Carl Stevenson, Rosemary Byrne, Sandra Gill, Hazel Saunders, Anastasia Tiller, Ruby LeRiche Beaumont, Jacob Kennedy, Gary Kennedy, Ray Cox, Di Dabinett, Justin Hall, Bill Onalik and so many more.
In Person Viewing - Suite 706 Atlantic Place
215 Water Street, St. John's, NL
Saturday November 30th - 9am to 5pm
Monday December 2nd - 9am to 6pm
Reminder, this auction, Session 3, starts to close at 7pm, Tuesday, December 3rd
Auction Terms and Conditions
Welcome to Bartlett Auctions. Thank you for your support and interest.
By bidding you agree with the Terms and Conditions of this auction sale.
Bidders can register online at www.bartlettauctions.com only.
You are free to watch online but please note that if you decide to bid, it takes a few moments to fill out the registration form and you cannot bid without registering. YOU MUST HAVE A CREDIT CARD ON FILE TO BID FOR THIS AUCTION, TO ADD A CREDIT CARD, LOG IN AND GO TO YOUR ACCOUNT. WE STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU DO SO BEFORE BIDDING BEGINS. FYI: WE DO NOT SEE, OR HAVE ACCESS TO, YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION. IT IS SECURED BY THE LARGEST ONLINE MERCHANT PROVIDER, STRIPE.COM AND THEIR SECURITY PROTOCOLS ARE INDUSTRY LEADING.
All items are presented and sold ‘as is where is’ with no warranties expressed or implied. We do our best to represent each piece but, your own inspection and enquiry takes precedence over all other representation and information. Items may be updated, removed or added, without notice, at the sole discretions of the auctioneer.
*Reserved Items - (This Auction has two Reserved Items) - Items marked as 'Reserve Not Met' - if the reserve is not met, the high bid is presented to the Owner/Estate for Approval or counter-offer. This may take 24 hours to resolve. Please bid accordingly. Bids placed on items with Reserves are accepted as entered, when the bid is below the Reserve. Once the Reserve is met, Max Bid rules are reinstated. See FAQs for clarity on Max Bid tool.
In the event of a dispute, the auctioneer holds sole discretion in its resolution. This includes, but is not limited to, the removal, re-offering or adjusting the terms of the item in dispute. In the event of a technical malfunction, internet issues, any network failure in general, we reserve the right to continue, start over or reset to a saved moment in the sale and set a new closing date and time. The auctioneer’s decision is final.
Bidding for this auction/sale is online only, however, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU ATTEND IN-PERSON VIEWING available at Suite 706 Atlantic Place, 215 Water Street, St. John's, NL
This auction features a staggered, soft close - beginning at 7PM, Tuesday, December 3, 2024, one lot will close every 20 seconds until complete. If a bid is received in the final 45 seconds, the countdown clock resets to 45 seconds for that lot only.
Buyer’s Fee – a 15% Buyer’s Fee will be applied to the purchaser’s total before HST. Harmonized Sales Tax applies to all items offered and all services rendered.
Pay by cash, e-transfer, Wire, Certified Cheque, Visa, MasterCard, American Express. (If you choose the credit card payment option there is a 2.4% premium added to the purchase to cover credit card fees.) The auctioneer will retain possession of all items until full payment has been received and cleared.
**Invoices are sent out just after the last item closes. Bidders can always find their invoices in the Account. All Items must be paid for within 24 hours following the sale; the successful bidder can initiate this payment process using their card on file, e transferring the amount due to admin@bartlettauctions.com or contacting us to arrange wire transfer, certified funds or other. If this is not initiated by the high bidder within 24 hours of the auction, the auctioneer retains the right to process the card on file (plus the 2.4% premium to cover credit card fees).
See Removal Times for details.
Pick Up Location unless otherwise noted:
Suite 706 Atlantic Place
215 Water Street, St. John's, NL
Buyers, please ensure the address on your profile is correct.
The auction team appreciates your interest and fair participation in this, and all future auction sales.
Wayne Bartlett
Auctioneer
Bartlett Auctions
wayne@bartlettauctions.com
709-749-9875
Canada
Items must be picked up this week - Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9-6pm (December 4,5 and 6th)
Suite 706 Atlantic Place, 215 Water Street
We ship internationally. If you require shipping, please contact us for a quote - admin@bartlettauctions.com